Controversial Dubai Frame opens to the public almost a decade after it was first designed

But the building has proven controversial for other reasons. The 50-storey portal may be the tallest picture frame in the world, but its architect wants to add another title to the stats: for him, it is the biggest stolen building of all time.

“They took my project, changed the design and built it without me,” says Fernando Donis, the Mexican architect whose frame proposal won an international competition in 2008 for a “tall emblem structure to promote the new face of Dubai”.
— The Guardian

Beginning with a questionable competition organized by the elevator company Thyssen Krupp in conjunction with UIA, the Mexican architect Fernando Donis had originally won a $100,000 prize for his design. However, after Donis refused to sign the contract provided by the Dubai municipality that would have restricted his role in the project, the city hired Hyder Consulting and proceeded without him.

Though Donis would've liked to have been involved in the construction process, according to the Guardian, he is still very pleased to see his design actualized. You can check out this interview we conducted back in 2015 in which he discussed the controversy to find out more.